Simon gift card visa

Gift card buys Broadway tickets

NEW YORK -- The League of American Theatres and Producers has established the Broadway Gift Card, a prepaid Visa card that can be used to get tickets to shows at more than three dozen Broadway theaters and other places around the country.

The gift cards are available in three denominations: $225, $195 and $155. They can be purchased online at www.LiveBroadway.com or at the Broadway Ticket Center in New York, located in Times Square at 1560 Broadway.

Here's what's currently playing on Broadway.

"Avenue Q." Very funny, adult musical comedy that has transferred from off-Broadway. Winner of the 2004 Tony Award for best musical. Golden. Telecharge.

"Beauty and the Beast." Lavish, literal, live-action version of the delightful Disney animated feature. Lunt-Fontanne. Ticketmaster, a special Disney hot line, 212-307-4747.

"Billy Crystal: 700 Sundays." The comedian's Broadway debut in a heartwarming and hilarious autobiographical one-man show. Broadhurst. Telecharge. Difficult.

"Bombay Dreams." Bland version of lavish London hit. Broadway. Telecharge. Closes Jan. 1.

"Brooklyn The Musical." A young French woman comes to America in search of her father. Plymouth. Telecharge

"Chicago." Broadway's longest running musical revival -- and deservedly so. Ambassador. Telecharge.

"Dame Edna: Back With a Vengeance!" Australia's most exotic import is back with a new show. Music Box. Telecharge.

"Democracy." Michael Frayn's play about West German chancellor Willy Brandt and his trusted assistant, an East German spy. James Naughton and Richard Thomas star. Brooks Atkinson. Ticketmaster.

"Dracula, The Musical." Songs by Frank Wildhorn, composer of "Jekyll & Hyde." Tom Hewitt plays Dracula. Belasco. Telecharge.

"Fiddler on the Roof." A lovely revival of the classic musical, starring Alfred Molina as Tevye. Minskoff. Ticketmaster.

"42nd Street." A loud, relentless revival. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Ticketmaster. Closes Jan. 2.

"Gem of the Ocean." August Wilson's latest drama about one man's spiritual journey. Phylicia Rashad stars. Walter Kerr. Telecharge.

"Golda's Balcony." Tovah Feldshuh as the legendary Israeli prime minister. Helen Hayes. Telecharge. Closes Jan. 2.

"Hairspray." The cult John Waters movie set in 1960s Baltimore is a hilarious, tuneful musical. Bruce Vilanch plays full-figured Edna Turnblad, mother of young Tracy Turnblad (Carly Jibson) whose life's desire is to appear on a television dance show. Neil Simon. Ticketmaster.

"La Cage aux Folles." Gary Beach and Daniel Davis in a revival of the exuberant Jerry Herman musical. Marquis. Ticketmaster.

"Laugh Whore." Comedian Mario Cantone's acerbic and hilarious one- man show. Cort. Telecharge. Closes Jan. 2.

"Mamma Mia!" The London musical sensation featuring the pop songs of ABBA. A special "Mamma Mia!" Telecharge number 212-563-5544.

"Marc Salem's Mind Games on Broadway." Marc Salem knows what you are thinking -- before you do. Monday evenings only. Lyceum. Telecharge

"Movin' Out." Songs by Billy Joel. Choreography by Twyla Tharp. A dance musical about good friends, taking them from the 1960s onward. The dancing is exuberant; the story less so. Richard Rodgers. Ticketmaster.

" 'night, Mother." Marsha Norman's mother-daughter drama of despair. Royale. Telecharge. Closes Feb. 27.

"Pacific Overtures." A revival of the Stephen Sondheim-John Weidman musical about the opening of Japan to the West. A Roundabout Theatre Company production. Studio 54. 212-719-1300.

"Reckless." Mary-Louise Parker stars in a Manhattan Theatre Club revival of Craig Lucas' dark comedy about one woman's adventures across America. Biltmore. Telecharge. Closes Dec. 19.

"Rent." Jonathan Larson's touching look at struggling East Village artists. Loosely based on Puccini's opera "La Boheme." Nederlander. Ticketmaster.

"The Good Body." Eve Ensler looks at women's image issues. Booth. Telecharge. Closes Jan. 16.

"The Lion King." Director Julie Taymor is a modern-day Merlin, creating a stage version of the Disney animated hit that makes you truly believe in the magic of theater. New Amsterdam. Ticketmaster, a special Disney hot line, 212-307-4747. Difficult on weekends.

''The Phantom of the Opera.'' The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about a deformed composer who haunts the Paris Opera House is the prime, Grade A example of big Brit musical excess. But all the lavishness does have a purpose in Harold Prince's intelligent production. Majestic. Telecharge.

"The Producers." A riotous stage version of the Mel Brooks movie. The musical is even better than the film, which is saying something. St. James. A special "Producers" Telecharge number 212-239-5800.

"The Rivals." A revival of the Richard Brinsley Sheridan comedy classic. Now in previews. Opens Dec. 16. Vivian Beaumont. Telecharge.

"Twelve Angry Men." Reginald Rose's drama of jury deliberations. Philip Bosco and Boyd Gaines are in the fine cast of this Roundabout Theatre Company production. American Airlines. 212-719-1300. Closes March 27.

"Whoopi." Whoopi Goldberg is back on Broadway with her one-woman show. Lyceum. Telecharge. Closes Jan. 30.

"Wicked." Ambitious, problematic musical about the witches in "The Wizard of Oz," based on Gregory Maguire's novel. Gershwin. Ticketmaster. Difficult on weekends.

The Telecharge number is 212-239-6200 unless otherwise indicated. There is a $6 service charge per ticket, plus a $2.50 handling fee per order.

Ticketmaster is 212-307-4100. There is a $6 service charge per ticket, plus a $3 handling fee per order.

For 24-hour information on theater, dance and music performances in New York's five boroughs, call the Theater Development Fund's New York City-On Stage, 212-768-1818.